2018 Post 1st Endometriosis Surgery Updates

***Update: 3/10/18The topic of Endometriosis is such a heavy one for me. At my worst I just can't get over how unfair this is. Some people are given perfect health and they literally throw it away- they eat junk all the time, they never exercise- they waste a perfectly healthy body. It's hard not to become bitter when I think about the stark contrast of the way I try to mange my health vs. the reckless way so many people treat their bodies.

My symptoms have drastically worsened as the endometriosis has progressed to the intestines and bladder. Things like bloating have become a norm for me. And I'm not talking about a little bit of bloat. I'm talking about going from flat stomach to looking 6-months pregnant within two minutes sort of bloat. What is often called "Endo-Bloat" is so unbelievably uncomfortable that you can't fathom eating anything at all- for days at a time. The bloating can happen at any time, regardless of food or liquid intake, but for me it's especially triggered by any inflammatory foods. It can get so extreme that it starts just under my xyphoid process and bloats all the way down to the pubic bone. This has forced my died to become extremely restrictive- anything inflammatory will flare up the endometriosis lesions which may not only trigger the "Endo-Bloat" but a number of other symptoms to flare up. On the plus side- an anti-inflammatory diet is the best option for ultimate health and wellness- and I'm forced into it. It's almost like a blessing! (I tell myself this all the time when I get too upset about it!).

***Update: 3/16/18I can feel the disease spreading- I know it's infiltrating nerves along my left leg and in has collected in my hip joint. The pain is constant, stabbing, contractions. It flares with my cycles but is slowly showing-face all the time- for no reason. As I type this, I can feel the pain down my leg to my ankle, and in my lower left abdominal area.

I recently learned a part of my endometriosis flares have a heavy metal toxicity factor associated- specifically aluminum and mercury. I work with a specialized weekly to minimize the spreading of the disease through Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT)- which is where we discovered all areas of disease and high inflammation were embedded with heavy metals. Insurance does not typically cover IMT as a therapy. I go weekly. I have to go weekly otherwise my condition would be debilitating at this point.

I just want to talk about this for a minute because this is a serious fault in our healthcare system and I hope the more people who are aware of this, then there will be more of a demand for change:

-For my first surgery in 2015 I had to flew to Maine because there are NO SPECIALISTS in the state of Florida who are trained and able to do the surgery I needed. There are only FEW specialists in the country. A regular gynecologist can not preform an endometriosis surgery (read this book and this book understand why). -I have phenomenal insurance- a PPO that costs upwards $700 a month for coverage. The surgery I required runs between $45,000-80,000, for ONE procedure. Despite the fact that this surgery was MEDICALLY necessary and no one in network was qualified to preform it, I was still denied coverage.

Let that sink in.

I have an incredible PPO and I'd still be paying up to $80,000 for ONE PROCEDURE which is MEDICALLY NECESSARY because NO ONE in my network is an endometriosis surgical specialist. How many women with Endometriosis have no insurance? Or bad insurance? What will their procedure cost them? Will they not be able to get medically necessary care due to cost? Will they have to max out multiple credit cards? This is the reality for many women. What about alternative therapies that they NEED in order to slow the progression of the disease- or to manage life to keep them afloat- how will they be able to afford that?

THIS IS WHY WE NEED HEALTHCARE REFORM.

I'm sharing this with you because this is NOT a me issue, this is a massive issue for our country.

An estimated 1 in 10 women will be diagnosed with endometriosis.

Endometriosis is not a 'lady-parts issue' it effects multiple organ structures like the intestines, bowels, bladder, kidneys, stomach, appendix, lungs, and can eat away at nerves.

For our country annually we are talking about total losses resulting in over 150 billion dollars per year

Average loss of productivity due to endometriosis is 11 hours per person, per week.

The average diagnostic delay remains an unacceptable average of 10 years.